[Edaily Reporter PARK JONG-HWA ] SamsungFire&MarineInsurance’s cumulative net income for the first three quarters of this year increased by more than 4% compared to last year. SamsungFire&MarineInsurance plans to accelerate the expansion of its global business following the acquisition of Canopius, a UK-based specialty insurer

SamsungFire&MarineInsurance announced on the 12th that its cumulative net income (net income attributable to owners of the parent) for the first three quarters of this year reached 1.865 trillion won, a 4.6% increase compared to the same period last year (1.784 trillion won). However, looking at the third quarter alone, net income fell 8.3% from 538 billion won last year to 493 billion won.

This was due to a sharp 23% drop in investment gains and losses, which fell from 332 billion won last year to 255 billion won this year. This is attributed to a slump in the stock market in the second half of the year and a decline in the market value of assets such as bonds due to rising global interest rates. However, on a cumulative basis for the first three quarters, investment gains and losses actually increased by 6.7% (from 978 billion won to 1.043 trillion won).

In its core insurance business, third-quarter profit rose 6.9%, and cumulative profit for the first three quarters increased 9.8%. This was driven by a higher retention rate for protection-type insurance policies and a stabilization in the loss ratio. New business CSM (Contract Service Margin—unrealized profit calculated by discounting future insurance profits to present value), an indicator of future growth, stood at 59.8 billion won in the third quarter, a slight decrease from the previous quarter (61.6 billion won).

In this earnings announcement, SamsungFire&MarineInsurance emphasized the benefits of the Canopius acquisition. The company announced this week that it would acquire a 40.6% stake in Canopius for $1.67 billion (approximately 2.2 trillion won) to secure controlling interest. This marks the first overseas M&A deal by a Samsung Group financial affiliate and is the largest M&A transaction in the history of the domestic insurance industry.

In its earnings announcement, SamsungFire&MarineInsurance stated regarding the Canopius acquisition: “This is an important milestone in our plan to enhance corporate value. By securing a stable revenue stream through high-quality assets in the Lloyd’s market and internalizing world-class professional talent and business infrastructure, it is expected to serve as a strategic turning point in diversifying our business structure from a domestic B2C (business-to-consumer) focus to a global B2B (business-to-business) model.” The company explained that it intends to strengthen its overseas and B2B business capabilities through Canopius’s sales network. With the acquisition of Canopius, SamsungFire&MarineInsurance’s overseas business is expected to increase its contribution to profits from 9% to 26%.